Sterling man, 24, dies from apparent dehydration on Texas hike

Nicholas J. Bull, 24, of Sterling died of apparent dehydration Saturday while hiking with friends in Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas on the border with Mexico.

Mr. Bull was a graduate student in hydrology at Western Michigan University and while in graduate school had done an internship with Apache Corporation in Midland, Texas, according to his obituary.

A press release from the National Park Service said Mr. Bull and two friends had been hiking on the MarufoVega Trail when the group ran out of water. One of them hiked out to get help, and a search began by park ranger and U.S. Border Patrol agents. Mr. Bull was already dead when they discovered him near the trail. An autopsy is planned to definitively determine the cause of death.

One Park Service employee said by phone yesterday that the temperature where the hikers were was between 108 and 110 Saturday.

"We are truly saddened by this tragic death," Big Bend Acting Superintendent David Elkowitz said in the press release, "and offer our condolences to the Bull family and friends."

Big Bend is an isolated park along the Rio Grande 70 miles south of Marathon, Texas. The Big Bend Web site describes the Marufo Vega Trail as a "strenuous but spectacular" 14-mile day hike or overnight backpacking trip. There is no water or shade on the trail.